


Flow Like the River

by deservetobesaved (andloushallguideme)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Castiel and Dean Winchester are Neighbors, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Summer Vacation, seriously there's basically zero angst in this, they're in high school but it doesn't take place in high school, this is the fluffiest thing I've written and I'm not sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 02:09:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15831597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andloushallguideme/pseuds/deservetobesaved
Summary: Dean and Sam are starting their summer vacation when they get new neighbors. A certain blue-eyed one makes Dean weak in the knees.





	Flow Like the River

“Dinner’s ready, kids!”

The voice rang throughout the house and Dean yelled back, “Okay, coming!” He heard Sam a second later shout out the same thing. He closed his laptop, set it on the bed, and stretched his legs. He heard a pop as he stretched his arms above his head.

Summer vacation had begun, and Dean was not about to waste the time he had, even though his mom argued watching shows all day was “rotting his brain.”

He walked out of his room in socks and bumped into Sam on the way out.

“Watch where you’re going, bitch.” He playfully shoved his little brother, receiving a glare in return.

“Whatever, jerk. Just watch when I hit my growth spurt. We’ll see who’s laughing then.”

“Sure, pip squeak.” Dean laughed and Sam ran off in his slippers towards the kitchen. Little Sam was 12 years old; 4 years younger than Dean, which he didn’t let him forget. Sam was also half a foot shorter than Dean, a fact he exploited every day.

He walked into the spring green kitchen as his mom was setting out plates for the 3 of them.

“Wow, mom, didn’t know you could make pizza! And you even put them in the same cardboard boxes that Domino’s uses!” He said sarcastically, earning a light tap on the side of his head.

“I don’t need your sass, Dean!” His mom responded, laughing along with him. They each took out a slice of pepperoni pizza and as Sam was pouring red pepper flakes on it they heard a loud thud outside, causing him to spill too much on to it. Dean pointed, laughing, and Sam kicked him under the table.

“Sam, that was _my_ foot!” His mom hissed, reaching down to rub it.

“Oops, sorry, mom!” Sam smiled at her apologetically while Dean continued laughing like a jerk. He supposed he _had_ rightfully earned that title.

They turned their attention to the window, which was right next to their little 4-seater table and saw a moving truck. Two mover guys had dropped a couch as they were trying to lift it out from the truck.

“I didn’t even see them get here,” their mom replied absentmindedly, holding the thin yellow curtain to the side.

“Are we getting new neighbors? I hope they’re nicer than Mr. Hills. He always yelled at me if I accidentally stepped on his lawn,” Sam complained, dusting off excess pepper off his pizza.

Mr. Hills had moved to a retirement home several months ago, as far as the neighbors were concerned. The old man was pretty grouchy most days, but as long as you stayed off his lawn and away from his house he was fine.

“Looks like it. Maybe I’ll go buy a pie for them to welcome them to the neighborhood. You’ve always gotta try and stay in your neighbors’ good graces,” Mary added, glancing at Dean and Sam.

“Yeah I guess. Don’t try and bake anything for them, then,” Dean suggested, receiving a glare from his mother. He gave a charming smile in return.

_________________________________

After dinner, Sam and Dean snooped at their new neighbors from the living room window. All they had seen so far was what looked like a couple helping the movers take boxes into their house. They looked like they were around their mom’s age.

“Eh, I’m bored. I’m gonna go play video games. Wanna go?” Sam bounced off the couch and looked at Dean expectantly.

“Yeah sure, go ahead and start it, I’ll be there in a sec.”

Dean saw some guys carry in a small piano. He wondered if he’d be able to hear them play from his house. He liked listening to classic rock, but he had to admit how calming he found classical music.

Just as he was about to turn around to go to Sam’s room, he saw a guy arrive at his neighbor’s house on a bicycle. He looked like a teenager, dressed in running shorts and a T-shirt. His messy dark hair rustled in the slight summer wind and Dean found himself a bit mesmerized by the new stranger. He saw what looked like his dad come out of the house and wave him inside. The new kid set his bike on the side of the porch and jogged inside, toned muscles and all.

Dean slid back down onto the couch, heart beating strangely quickly.

He bounced to Sam’s room and took a seat on the small couch he had that faced his TV. They began playing some first-person shooter game, but Dean’s mind was not on avoiding grenades. He kept thinking back to that guy and wondering what he was like. Was he in high school? College, even? Did he play the piano? Dean had never really dated anyone; he flirted with girls sometimes and went on “group dates” but he had not had a proper girlfriend before, much less a boyfriend. He had seen guys around town he thought were cute but had never done anything about it. He hadn’t ever told anyone about it either.

“Dude you’re dead! Are you even listening?” Sam nudged him, narrowing his eyes at the TV.

“Oh, man, sorry. Guess I just got distracted.”

__________________________________

One week later found Dean and Sam playing football outside, beads of sweat running down their faces.

“Go long, Sam!” He threw the ball as far as he could without it accidentally going over the fence and into the forest. Their neighborhood was small, built next to what they called the ‘Bluewoods.’ Blue jays were frequently seen perching on trees, which is where the name had come from.

Now every time Dean saw a blue jay, he was reminded of the mysterious blue-eyed boy next door. He had seen him only once more since the first time he saw him, taking off on his bike towards the trail in the forest. He had learned from his mom, who, true to her word, delivered the next door neighbors a key lime pie from a local bakery, that the couple had a son who was also 16 years old. A son named Castiel.

Dean thought it was a weird-ass name but intriguing nonetheless. He figured that someone who looked as unique and (dare he say) as beautiful as Castiel, deserved it.

Just as he caught Sam’s throw, he heard the neighbor’s back door open and saw Castiel come out, hair as messy as when he first saw him. To his dismay, his neighbor looked right at him.

The wooden picket fence surrounding Dean’s yard was only about 4 feet tall, and Cas could easily see above it.

“Hi,” Castiel said suddenly, running a hand through his hair. It was browner in the sun. Dean stared dumbly for a second before his mouth caught up with his brain.

“Oh uh, hi,” Dean replied, growing warm. He felt lucky as he was pretty sure his face was already red from being out in the sun and running around. Castiel wouldn’t be able to tell how he made him blush from a simple ‘hi.’

“Hi, what’s your name?” Sam unshyly stepped closer to the new neighbor, hazel eyes curious.

“Castiel. How about yours?” His deep voice made Dean sigh a little, and he wondered if he should deepen his voice, too. He thought it would be too obvious and decided against it.

“I’m Sam and this is Dean.” Little Sam gestured to his older brother and he put his hand up in a little wave.

“Cool,” the neighbor replied, smiling sheepishly. Dean thought he was about to faint. He didn’t ever remember being this dramatic about anyone.

“Sooo, Castiel, wanna join us?” Sam questioned him as he had known the neighbor forever. Dean looked at his little brother in slight amazement and wondered whether he loved him or hated him.

“Uh, sure. Let’s do it… I’ll uh, go around to the front,” He responded hesitantly, blue eyes back on Dean for a split second before he turned back to Sam. Dean smiled at him as welcomingly and as normally as he could without giving away his nervousness. Castiel walked away as Sam nodded at him.

“He seems nice,” Sam replied, hitting Dean’s chest lightly.

“Yeah, sure.”

______________________________

They positioned themselves in a triangle, so they could throw the ball to each other. As they played catch, Sammy asked Castiel all sorts of questions, with Dean chiming in every now and again. He learned that he was going to be a junior and attend Dean’s school, he was the one that played piano (though he said wasn’t too good, which he doubted), he had moved from a different town not too far from there for his mom’s new job, and that he, too, liked to play video games.

Castiel impressed Dean yet again with a good throwing arm, but that didn’t surprise him, either.

“What do _you_ do around here, Dean?” Castiel looked straight at him, making him glance away shyly.

He met his stare again and said, “Oh you know, just play football sometimes, watch movies… I like to lay out here at night sometimes and watch the stars. They look pretty cool out here since this place is a little removed from town.” He added the last part without thinking, but he really did like to spend time outdoors.

“That sounds cool, maybe I’ll start doing that, too.”

Dean nodded in approval and tried to ignore the butterflies in his stomach.

______________________________________

A couple of days later, Dean stepped out of the car on his driveway with bags of groceries in his arms, his mom lugging in a gallon of milk and a bag of potatoes. To his surprise, Sam came out of the house with Castiel in tow.

“Here, mom, I’ll take that.” Sam reached for the gallon of milk as his mom glanced at their visitor and smiled.

“Oh, this is Castiel, the neighbor. We were playing video games while you guys were at the store,” He supplied.

Castiel shook Mary’s free hand and said, “Nice to meet you, ‘mam. I can get that for you.” He reached over and grabbed the potatoes, endearing Dean. He thought he might’ve seen hearts fluttering around his own head like in cartoons. He scolded himself internally.

“You, too, sweetie! And thank you,” Mary acquiesced, grabbing another bag from their trunk. Dean greeted Castiel quietly and went in after Sam.

Several bags later, the boys were all seated in the living room, with Mary in the kitchen trying to follow a new recipe she had gotten from her mom.

“You’ve gotta stay for dinner, Castiel. I’m 90% sure this meal is going to be good,” she joked. Dean put his head in his hands dramatically as Sam and Castiel laughed.

“Okay… sure.” He glanced at Dean and Sam questioningly, as if looking for approval, so the brothers nodded enthusiastically.

“I’ll just go and tell my parents; I’ll be back,” Castiel added, getting up and walking out the front door, leaving Dean’s heart in disarray.

“He’s so good at Call of Duty. Way better than you,” Sam chimed in. Dean shoved him and mocked his voice for good measure. He quickly walked to the restroom and locked the door.

He looked at his reflection, noticing his hair sticking up in different directions. He swore under his breath and used some water to tame it a little. He was going to spray some cologne on himself but decided that’d be extremely obvious. He wanted to play it cool, but that was easier said than done when he was in Castiel’s presence.

He came out of the bathroom and walked over to the living room, where Sam and Castiel were talking about the Bluewoods. His little brother was sitting in the rocking chair, leaving Dean to sit next to Castiel in the love seat.

He cleared his throat as he sat down, giving his neighbor a small smile. He was wearing some black jeans along with a well-fitting red tee, matching red converse shoes to boot. Dean bit his lip a little.

“And so no one goes there on full moons because it’s probably haunted,” Sam finished, whispering it like he was at a campfire.

“Shut up, Sam, that’s not true,” Dean laughed. He threw a pillow at him which Sam avoided by using another pillow-shield.

“It’s just a dumb myth; some friends and I went a couple of years ago to investigate and nothing happened. It’s just a story parents tell kids so they don’t go around wandering and get lost,” he explained to Castiel, eyes boring into him. Dean gulped but stood his ground.

“I thought so. I think there’s stories like that for every town,” Castiel agreed.

“Ooookay but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Sam replied in a ghost-like voice. Dean rolled his eyes as Castiel indulged his brother.

He appreciated how nice he was to Sam, despite him being younger and sillier. If there was any way to win Dean’s heart it was to treat his family kindly, and Castiel was winning the race without even knowing he was in it. In fact, there were no other competitors. Dean supposed he was screwed.

____________________________________

“Are you going to miss your old school?” Sam questioned Castiel as they all ate dinner, exchanging stories about the town, too.

“Not really, I didn’t really have a lot of friends because we’ve kind of moved around a lot. I think we’re staying here for good, though,” he said, munching on some mashed potatoes.

“You’ll be okay, you can hang out with Dean and his friends, right, Dean?” Mary looked at her son, willing him to answer in the affirmative.

“Yeah, of course. Everyone’s pretty nice here. You shouldn’t have a problem,” he replied, grinning at Castiel.

“Cool, thanks,” he grinned back, and Dean almost choked on his chicken. Sam glanced at Dean surreptitiously and he prayed to any god out there that Sam wouldn’t be astute enough to figure out he had a crush on the neighbor boy. He’d never hear the end of it.

He drank some water in an attempt to calm his nerves while Castiel talked about biking in the Bluewoods.

“Oh, that sounds nice! So peaceful! Hey, why don’t you kids use your bikes anymore?” Mary asked.

“The tires ran out of air. We just haven’t gone and gotten them fixed,” Sam replied, Dean nodding.

“Oh, I have an air pump you can use. I use my bike so much I realized I needed one on hand,” Castiel offered.

“That’d be cool, thanks Cas. Castiel, I mean! Sorry,” Dean laughed nervously, his cheeks reddening.

“That’s okay, you can call me Cas.” He smiled at him earnestly and Dean swore he had stars in his eyes.

____________________________

The next few weeks consisted of the three friends going out and biking on the trail, playing basketball at Castiel’s house, playing video games, and even watching movies in Dean’s room. It was fun hanging out with someone his own age, even if Sam tagged along most of the time. His friends from school lived kind of far from his own house, so he didn’t hang out with anyone besides his little brother during the summer. Regrettably for him, hanging out with Castiel didn’t make his crush go away, but only amplified it. It was the small things he said or did that got to him.

Like the first time they had gathered to watch a movie, they watched a scary one, with Sam leaving in the middle of it under the guise of it being ‘boring.’ Dean knew differently and informed Castiel of how much of a scaredy-cat his brother was.

“I sometimes wish I had a little brother,” Castiel had replied, eyes not leaving the TV screen.

They were both laying down on the bed on their stomachs, heads resting on their hands.

“Yeah he can be a pain in the ass but he’s a good little brother most of the time,” Dean chuckled, careful not to look at Castiel for too long.

“Well you’re a pretty good big brother, too.”

Cas had said this while gazing at him, and all Dean could do was stare back, until Sam’s abrupt entrance startled them both. Dean didn’t know if he was relieved or frustrated.

From then on, Dean decided not to stress about Castiel, as hard as he may have wanted to. He wasn’t sure if Cas was interested in him the way the Dean was. He was sure he liked him at least as a friend since they spent so much time with each other (and Sam). He decided just to roll with it.

That evening, Sam left to a friend’s house to spend the night. Dean debated whether or not to invite Castiel over to look at the stars later. Was that overly romantic? He almost wanted to ask his mom but that would mean revealing his big fat crush.

“Fuck it,” Dean whispered to himself, and sent a text to Castiel. They hadn’t texted much apart from the random, “Hey, wanna shoot some hoops?” but he was pretty responsive anyhow.

_Hey, there’s supposed to be a meteor shower tonight. Wanna watch with me?_

Dean threw his phone on the bed, not wanting to look at it. Thirty seconds later his phone chimed. He reluctantly went over and swiped up to see the text.

**_Sure, that’d be awesome. Should I bring a blanket or snacks or something?_ **

Dean may have squealed a bit internally.

_I have a blanket, you can bring snacks if you want_

**_Cool, chips or cookies? Fuck it, I’ll take both_ **

_Lol see you in a bit_

Dean yelled into a pillow excitedly and quickly got up to get everything ready. He gathered a blanket, two pillows, and a throw just in case, as it was sometimes chilly.

“Dean, you okay? I heard a commotion.” Mary stood at the doorway in her robe, looking at Dean curiously.

“Yeah, nothing’s wrong, I’m just gonna be outside with Cas for a bit. There might be a meteor shower tonight,” Dean explained, slightly out of breath.

“That’s nice, honey. Don’t stay out too late, okay? I’m gonna head to bed already.”

“Okay, mom, I won’t. Goodnight,” he replied. He watched her retreat into her bedroom as he giddily walked towards the back door.

He set out the large thick blanket on the grass and sat on it, pillow on his lap. A minute later he saw Cas come in through the back gate, smiling from ear to ear carrying snacks.

“Hey, Cas,” Dean greeted, taking the cookies from him.

“Hey yourself,” Cas chuckled. He settled down next to Dean and immediately laid on his side, his head resting on his hand. Dean copied him and reached to grab a chocolate chip cookie.

“Oh my gosh there are so good,” Dean moaned in appreciation and Cas froze for a second, coughing a bit.

“Ha, yeah I baked them.”

“What! No way!” Dean raised his eyebrows in awe as Castiel smirked at him.

“Just kidding, they’re from the store.” Castiel laughed and Dean pushed him playfully, feeling his toned arm. He wasn’t sure he was going to make it out alive.

They laid back down next to each other and stared at the vast night sky. There were already some stars out, but it was still a bit early for it to be completely dark. 

“So, do you know at what time the meteor shower is supposed to happen?” Cas looked at Dean, and even in semi-darkness that stare gave him goosebumps.

“I read that it might happen around 10:30, so in an hour or so.”

“Cool… I’ve only ever seen one shooting star, but I forgot to make a wish because I was too amazed,” Cas said. He stared up in wonder, and Dean was reminded of how he looked at him.

“Yeah, that happens,” He chuckled, smiling. He placed his arms behind his head, like he usually did before falling asleep.

There was a gentle breeze; the trees’ leaves rustled quietly, like they, too, were waiting for the stars. Dean thought he had never felt more at peace.

“It’s getting kind of chilly, isn’t?” Cas rubbed his arms and before he even thought about it, he placed a large throw on the both of them.

“Better?” Dean was a little bit smug.

“You thought of everything,” he laughed and added, “You got a candle there, too?”

“No, but I can go get one.” Dean faked getting up and Cas held on to his arm, grinning, his smile reaching his eyes.

“You’re funny, Dean Winchester. Hilarious, even.” Castiel laid on his side, again, looking at him directly. Dean did the same.

“Yeah, I get that a lot. Handsome, too.” He had no idea where the sudden confidence had come from, but he was not about to back down. He stared at his neighbor defiantly.

“Oh, really? You know what? That doesn’t even surprise me.” Castiel looked at him with an unreadable expression, which made Dean gulp. He reached for a cookie, not knowing what else to do.

“Can I ask you something? You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” Dean could see the gears turning in Castiel’s head.

“Sure.” There was hardly anything that Dean would refuse Cas.

“What happened to your dad?”

“Oh.” He let out a sigh of relief. He never really brought up his dad to any of his friends, but he trusted Castiel enough to tell him about John.

“He died when I was little. He was a firefighter and he died from smoke inhalation. He just… didn’t get out in time, I guess. I was only 4 years old, so I have some vague memories but that’s about it.” The air felt still all of a sudden.

“I’m sorry your family had to go through that.” Castiel raised his hand like he wanted to pat Dean’s arm, but he set it down suddenly.

“Thanks. It was harder on my mom, I’m sure. That’s part of why we moved here. I think my mom wanted a fresh start for us… I think about how strong she was- to be able to do that and raise us by herself. I’ve got a lot to thank her for.”

“She seems like a great mom.” Dean smiled at him and looked back up towards the sky.

He focused on a swaying tree in the distance. He felt a chill and cuddled in with the blanket. Castiel inched a bit closer until their arms were touching.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to.”

“No, it’s okay. I feel warmer, don’t you? Body heat and all that?” They laughed and lay side by side, breathing slowly, following the rhythm of the trees.

“Hey, you said you played piano. Can I hear you play sometime?” Dean broke the silence, itching to knowing everything there was to know about Castiel Novak.

“Um, sure. But don’t expect too much. I only know some beginner pieces and random bits of songs here and there. I’m trying to learn more, though,” he replied, glancing at Dean.

“I’m sure you sound great, Cas. You seem like the kind of guy that’s good at everything.”

“Ha, stop it,” Castiel nudged his elbow. He couldn’t really see his face, but he was 89% he was blushing. Dean was pleased.

“Really! You’re good at playing hoops, you run fast, you always manage to kill me and Sam when we play video games,” he said, chuckling.

“Yeah well, that’s just a coincidence. If it makes you feel better I suck at math.” Cas looked at him sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders.

“What?! I love math. You’re lucky you have a math genius for a neighbor. Don’t you worry, Cas, I got your back.” He patted his chest and wished he could leave his hand there for the rest of eternity. Castiel just continued laughing, like Dean was the funniest person he’d encountered.

“Gee, thanks Dean. You’re so humble.”

“Always…You know what I suck at? History. It’s the most boring thing in the world.”

Cas gasped and said sarcastically, “History is my favorite! Don’t you wanna know what happened 400 years ago in the middle of fucking nowhere?” They laughed loudly, and Dean thought they might wake the neighbors.

“I thought you were serious for a second. I was going to tell you we couldn’t hang out anymore,” Dean replied, grinning at him.

“That would be devastating, Dean.”

“I could never, Cas. It’s too late. You’re stuck with us for the rest of time.”

“Poor me.”

__________________________________

They continued to talk about Dean’s high school, which teachers Cas should avoid, as well as which students to stay away from. Castiel listened to him attentively, which warmed Dean to the core.

“And so yeah, definitely avoid Becky, she’s kind of a stalker and- hey, look!” He pointed up at the sky seeing several streaks of light. He glanced at Castiel as he marveled at it, mouth slightly open.

They lay there in silence for several minutes until Cas whispered, “Can I make a wish now?”

“Of course, Cas. I already have,” He whispered in reply and Castiel closed his eyes for a few seconds. He opened them and looked back at Dean.

“There.”

They stared at each other for what seemed like hours. Dean heard the leaves, rustling in the background, but they were somewhat muted, like he was underwater.

Castiel leaned in incredibly slowly, and before Dean even knew what he was doing, he was copying his exact movements. He closed his eyes and he didn’t even know if his lips were being touched by the wind or by Castiel’s lips. He finally felt real pressure and Cas’ slow breath, drawing him in deeper, almost hypnotizing him. They moved at a glacial pace, finding out where each of them fit in this new puzzle.

The next thing Dean knew, Castiel was on top of him, still under the blanket. He breathed in his scent, not getting enough of it. He had one knee between his legs and one hand lightly gripping his short hair. They made out lazily and tenderly and without a hurry in the world.

Dean could get used to it.

_______________________

After they gathered their things, they stood there, smiling at each other; neither one willing to leave. Dean grabbed his hand and looked up at him.

“I’m pretty sure I’m falling for you, Cas.”

He grinned at him widely and replied, “well, you’re not falling alone.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! 
> 
> Find me on tumblr as deservetobesaved!


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